Radar receiver automatic gain control circuit



v 1950 E. K. STODOLA 2,532,347

RADAR RECEIVER AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL CIRCUIT Filed July 26, 1944 EmMN KSTODOLA WAeA-MQ Z ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 5, 1950 RADAR RECEIVER AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL CIRCUIT Edwin K. Stodola, Neptune, N. 3., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Application July 26, 1944, Serial No. 546,726

3 Claims. (01. 250-) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me'of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates, in general, to means for reducing the effects of interference in pulse receivers. In particular, it relates to means for reducing the possibility of overloading or saturation of the sensitive receiver of a radio pulse-echo object location system by strong interfering signals which are of longer duration or modulated at a lower rate than the desired signals.

In conventional object-location systems, sharp pulses of wave energy, i. e., wave trains of relatively short duration, are intermittently transmitted at intervals considerably longer than said duration. When said waves strike a reflecting object, echoes are received; and the time between the transmission of a pulse and the reception of its echo is measured to determine the range of the reflecting object. The minimum length of the intervals between pulses depend upon the maximum distance to be measured and the speed of wave propagation; for radio waves, approximate- 4 1y ten microseconds per mile.

Since only a minute portion of the energy is reflected, it is necessary to use very sensitive receivers, which must have wide-band signal channels to adequately resolve the sharp pulses handled thereby. Consequently, such receivers are extremely susceptible tointerferring signals on the same or adjacent channels, which tend to overload or saturate the receiver, particularly the later stages thereof, so that it is rendered incapable of detecting desired echo pulses.

To reduce the tendency of strong signals which are modulated at a lower rate than the desired signals to saturate the receiver, it has been the prior practise to use a portion of the detected output of the receiver as a fast-acting gain-control bias on the tube of a preceding stage. To prevent blocking or degeneration of desired pulse signals, the biasing voltage is applied after an initial delay which is preferably longer than the duration of the desired pulses. If said interfering signals are of longer duration or modulated at a lower rate than the desired signals, said negative bias will remain and cause the tube to operate at a lower point of its plate current/grid potential curve, so that the gain is reduced. Said bias can be made so high that substantially only the peaks of succeeding desired signals extend to any great extent, into the conducting region of the tube. In order that the bias be removed substantially immediately after the interfering signal has ceased, said bias is applied through a circuit in which energy builds up slowly and decays rapidly.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a'fast-acting biasing network of the type above discussed, which is responsive only to signals above a predetermined amplitude.

t is a further object of this invention to provide a signal-responsive, fast-acting biasing net- 'work of the type above discussed, which is simple in design and easily incorporated in existing pulse modulation receivers without extensive changes therein. For this purpose an auxiliary detector is connected to the output of one of the L-F. stages. The output of said detector is applied as a gaincontrol bias to one of the preceding stages of the receiver. To provide a decay of the bias voltage which is faster than the build-up time, the output of said detector is applied as a charge on a capacitor in the grid-cathode circuit of the tube in said preceding stage, through a circuit having a predetermined time constant. When the detected output disappears, the charge on said capacitor is dissipated through a circuit having a considerably smaller time constant than said charging circuit. The time constant of the charging circuit is preferably less than the interval between the desired pulse signals, and usually not larger than about four to ten times the duration of each pulse.

For a better understanding of the invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the accompanying claims.

In the drawing, there is shown a schematic circuit of one embodiment of the invention, as applied to the receiver of a pulse-echo system. The receiver is of the superheterodyne type and comprises a plurality of intermediate-frequency (L-F.) amplifier stages l0, l2 and M in cascade, coupled to the usual antenna and frequency changer circuits (not shown). The last I.-F. stage is coupled to the usual second detector to derive the pulse modulation envelopes of the received echoes, which may in turn be further amplified by a video amplifier and impressed upon a range-indicating oscilloscope in a manner well known in the art.

Each I.-F. amplifier stage comprises an electron tube 20, which is preferably a pentode such as type 6AC7, and the usual interstage couplings, in this case transformers 22 and 24. Steady gridbias potential is provided by a cathode resistor 26 shunted by a capacitor 28. The output of transformer 22 is impressed between the input grid andcathode of tube 26 through capacitors 28 and 36, which are both of low impedance to the I.-F. currents. A choke 32, of high impedance to I.-F. currents, is used to keep the I.-F. energy out of the biasing circuits, hereinafter described in greater detail.

In accordance with the present invention, the output of one of the I.-F. amplifier stages, in this case the last stage i4, is detected by an. auxiliary detector circuit '35] to derive the modulation envelope of the received signals (although the output of detector l6 can be used for this purpose) and said modulation envelope is impressedas an additional negative bias between the grid and cathode of the preceding stage l2. Said bias is applied through an asymmetricallyconducting circuit 50, which provides a slight delay in the building up of the bias voltage, but causes a rapid decay of said bias upon the cessation of the signal. 7

Detector 48 comprises a diode Min series with an output circuit including. a load resistor 42, shunted by a capacitor es of low impedance to the L-F. energy, but of. high impedance to the derived modulation envelope components. The output across resistorAZ charges condenser 30 through a circuit including an LeF. choke 44, a high-resistance resistor. i shunted by a diode 52, a switch 53, and choke 32.

Theabove-described circuits operate as fol lows: With switch 53 in the lower position, the cathode circuit of tube Zilis connected to ground,

and the negative bias developed across resistor is impressed uponthe grid of said, tube through ground, choke 32, and the secondary of transformer 22. In accordance with this mode of operation, circuits 56 'andfiil are disconnected an'd'the amplifier operates in the conventional manner, which may be preferred when interference is not extensive.

In the presence of continuous waves orother interference which is of. longer duration or pacitorfie is in series with the negative'grid. bias developed across resistor 26, and is. of such polarity as to render the grid'm'ore negative.

The time constant of thev circuit including resistor 55 and capacitor 3E) is made a. minorv fraction of the intervals between the desired pulse signals. Preferably, said time constant is not more than five to ten times the, duration of -the desired signal pulsesowthat thelatter will be transmitted by the amplifier tube before the additional bias due to said desired pulse rises to any appreciable extent. On theother hand, interfering signals of longerduration than said desired pulseswill (after initial-delay due to the charging time) develop .a more or less steady increase in the negative bias andshift the operating point of the tube to a lower point on .the plate-current/grid-voltage characteristic. ..The resultant reduction in gain degeneratesgmostof the interfering signals, and reduces, thetendency tooverload or saturate the succeeding Sta es.

Desiredpulses occurring inthe presence of interfering energy will be transmitted by sai'd tube that the automatic biasin Qiiicuit of thepresent .inventioncan be...easi1y p l e 3 0: x in receiver withoutextens v modifica io r o Onlya single connectionds extended to the out- ,tem wherein. pulses of,carrier-wave energy are intermittently transmitted and echoes thereof ire ceived, acarrierwave channel n vmgenum- ,ber of cascaded stages each including J a ig e- 4 before any additional bias due to said pulses can be built up. Thus, the circuit discriminates in favor of sharply rising pulses of short duration. h a I To dissipate "as quickly as possible the increased bias produced by each signal after the latter has ceased, a relatively low resistance electronic, path, in this case a diode 52, is provided, so that the bias voltage across capacitor 30 can discharge through said diode and resistor 42 to ground. Since the. resistance of the discharge path through said "diode is considerably smaller than the charge path through resistor 5!, the bias is dissipated considerably faster than it is um As'an example of a suitable design for a pulseeclio system in which pulses of about 20 microsecondsare transmitted at intervals of about 1600 microseconds, the following component valuesw re found. suita e; esist s 42 fine. .15 W lance. ohm anio ,me ohm. .r sn gt ve i P pacitors, 3il and ljs were 10 0 micromicrofar ads and 2 5 micromicrofarads, respectively; and tubes s i and, 52 were type 9002 (V'I2) tri'odes I with the grids and platesconnected together so that they junctioned as diodes. ine time constant of, the char n ci u t .c nd re t 3 s iher'forfe about microseconds which amounts toabout five, t i1 nes the pulse duration and iso of the intervalbetween pulses. 'Ifhe time constant of the condenser discharge circu it, through diode 52 and resistor 52, is about one percent oflthat of. the ,charging circuit. It is to be distinctly understood, howeven that other circuit constants may be used, since, as above explained, theyidepend upon factors such as pulse duration, the interval between pulses, and the nature of interfering signals encountered. V V r 7 Another feature 'ofvthis invention is the use of ,a source; of potential ifi to provide diode 4| withasuitabledelay bias, so that it will notstart conducting, until signals above a. predetermined mpl tu e ar appl ed .th tb-,.. Thu-. h a

maticybias potentials will be developed only when signals above saidgamplitudeare encountered.

Said.v gain-control potentials can 7 also be applied in prpperproportions, to several stages i n ,the receiverhhothbeforeand after the stage which feedsbias-producing detectortll.

., From the foregoing description, it jbelseen put of one jof the receiver sta es, and another connection tohthe input circuit. of ,o ne of .said

stages, although, the value of normal biasing components of said input circuit may need to bechanged li h ly in eca cs- ,While, there ,has been described what is at p s nt considered. a. pr err d emb dim t .o the invention, it willbe obyious to those skilled ,in the, art ,that various changes and modifications may be made therein without; departing from the inventiomrand it, is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims, to cover all such changes and modificationsas fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

,1 claim;

d 1. In a radio pulse- -echq object detection syscontrolled electron tube, "apai'r'tf detectors ener.

gized in parallel by the output of said channel, for deriving modulation envelopes of said output, one of said detectors being adapted to be coupled to signal translating and indicating means, means responsive to the output of the other detector to decrease the amplification of a prior stage of the receiver, said other detector having a load circuit, said last-named means comprising a capacitor connected between the cathode and grid of the electron tube in said stage, a circuit including a resistor and said capacitor connected in series across said load circuit, a diode so connected across said resistor that it is nonconducting for currents in the charging direction and conducting for currents in the discharging direction, whereby the discharging time of said capacitor is less than the charging time thereof, said resistor and capacitor having a time constant equal to a minor fraction of the interval between successive pulses transmitted by said system.

2. In a pulse-echo object detection system wherein pulses of radio carrier wave energy are intermittently transmitted and echoes thereof received, the duration ofsaid pulses being a 1 cuit and said capacitor, comprising a resistive path of such resistance that the time constant of said charging circuit is a minor fraction of the interval between pulses, but not more than ten times the pulse duration, and a discharging circuit for said capacitor comprising an electron discharge tube having at least a pair of electrodes so connected to said resistive path that the time constant of said discharging circuit is a minor fraction of that of said charging circuit.

3. The apparatus defined in claim 2 including means for impressing a potential on said detector for biasing said detector beyond its current cut off point and thereby rendering it unresponsive to outputs from said carrier-wave channel having' less than a predetermined magnitude.

EDWIN K. STODOLA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,093,095 Peterson Sept. 14, 1937 2,111,386 Buchmann et al. Mar. 15, 1938 2,137,401 I-Iobbie Nov. 22, 1938 2,171,657 Klotz Sept. 5, 1939 2,189,925 Reinken Feb. 13, 1940 2,200,049 Van Loon May 7, 1940 2,207,094 Getaz July 9, 1940 2,216,582 Barton Oct. 1, 1940 2,262,841 Goddard Nov. 18, 1941 2,329,570 Wellenstein Sept. 14, 1943 2,344,697 Hollingsworth Mar. 21, 1944 2,354,086 MacKay July 18, 1944 2,427,691 Pritchard Sept. 23, 1947 

